1141 Deep Winter

Sonia Sea, Pasu Island, Chasm of Storm Cathedral.

This was the headquarters of the Church of the Lord of Storms, the holiest of holy temples, a place blessed by a G.o.d.

The murals that were painted in blue, silver, green, and golden colors seemed rough, but they had a sacred and majestic vibe to them. Coupled with the dome that stood at a height with an excess of a hundred meters, it made all who stood there feel how puny they were. It made one unable to resist bowing their head.

Alger Wilson had already undergone the ritual and had “truly” become a Sequence 5 Ocean Songster. At this moment, he had come here with the same batch of recently advanced Beyonders, awaiting the preaching of Pontiff Gaard II.

Indeed, it’s really easy to lose control when consuming excess potions. I’ve already digested all the past potions, but I nearly succ.u.mbed this time… After I leave Pasu Island, I’ll borrow the Unshadowed Crucifix from The Sun and purge the excess characteristic. This can both be exchanged for money, and it can also be used to secretly nurture some Beyonders who are loyal to me… Alger used the reflection of the blue stone tiles on the ground to see that his hair had darkened and thickened.

At this moment, the sound of a booming musical instrument exploded in the hearts of every Beyonder, spreading extreme fear.

Pontiff Gaard II walked out with a scepter in hand, went up a dais, and faced the crowd. He said in a deep, rumbling voice, “Congratulations, everyone. You are one step closer to the Lord.”

He was wearing a papal tiara with sapphires, emeralds, and other gems. He wore a dark blue robe that was nearly black. On top of it was silver and gold silk embroidered with symbols of lightning, storms, and oceans. His aura was deep and majestic, as though a tempest was about to strike.

This Grounded Angel, the spokesperson of the Lord of Storms, was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. However, everyone knew that Gaard II had been helming the Council of Cardinals for nearly a century.

As a Blessed of the G.o.ds, this level of longevity wasn’t strange in the eyes of the believers. It was normal to not have anything to fear.

Upon hearing the pontiffs praise, Alger didn’t have any thoughts. He clenched his right fist and struck his left breast, shouting, “Holy Lord of Storms!”

In the next fifteen minutes, they quietly listened to Gaard II’s preachings.

After completing this process, Alger received his mission from a high-ranking deacon. He was to head to Sonia Island and lay an ambush in the surrounding waters, in search for opportunities to attack the port, or supply s.h.i.+ps and Feysac merchant s.h.i.+ps.

Backlund, Empress Borough, Inside the Hall family’s luxurious mansion.

Just as Audrey put on her blue cloak in preparation to bring her golden retriever, Susie; her maidservant, Annie; and the others to the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation at Phelps Street, she saw her father, Earl Hall, enter through the main door.

“Father, good morning. Did you… not come home last night?” Audrey looked him up and down in puzzlement.

You could tell?” Earl Hall stroked his lovely mustache and asked with a smile.

Realizing that her father was in a good mood, Audrey turned her green eyes and said with a faint smile, “Your coat reeks of cigarettes. It implies that you haven’t taken it off for some time. Not to mention that’s an outdoor set of clothing.”

Apart from this, there were many other details that could lead to the same conclusion, but Audrey deliberately didn’t mention it.

As Earl Hall took off his coat and handed it to his valet, he chuckled and said, “Not bad at all. You’re very observant. It looks like your work at the bursary foundation has greatly benefited you.

“I was at the Prime Minister’s the entire night, waiting for news.”

Having said that, Earl Hall sighed and said, “Winter County and Midseas.h.i.+re’s front line has once again repelled the Feysacian attack. With the onset of the harsh winter, we can finally catch our breaths.”

Audrey blinked, perfectly expressing her surprise.

Earl Hall immediately smiled.

“I understand your puzzlement. The newspaper only mentions what we want the people to know.

“The defense lines at the Amantha mountain range and the various cities along Midseas.h.i.+re’s coast aren’t as robust as you think. In the first round of the attacks, our fleet and soldiers suffered a tremendous loss. In order to not cause any panic, we announced that there were wins on both sides. We also made all the large s.h.i.+pyards and factories work like mad to contribute to the war machine.

“In this period of time, the two lines were almost breached several times. Many critical areas were lost and recovered. These repeated “see-saws” was apparently a human meat grinder.

“Luckily, we’ve finally lasted to this point. This winter will be the turning point of the war.”

Actually, I know… The number of people who died, went missing, and the casualty numbers might be concealed, but it still presents quite a few problems… Besides, winter might not necessarily be a good thing. Feysac’s Weather Warlocks are very good at using such situations… Audrey’s heart sank as she hurriedly controlled her emotions and smiled.

“That’s great. I hope we can quickly have peace restored.”

Earl Hall was taken aback as he said, “His Majesty plans to give a speech to everyone in the kingdom on Sat.u.r.day and tell them that we will prevail.

“When the time comes, the cities and villages will be gathered at their respective squares. The latest technology will be used to allow everyone to hear his speech.”

The latest technology… Gather the entire kingdom in various squares to listen to the king’s speech… Audrey suddenly thought of Mr. World’s reminder and decided to inform him of this matter.

Organize a large number of people to listen to a speech… This must be the corresponding ritual, right? George III is about to hold the Black Emperor ritual? After receiving the latest news from Miss Justice, Klein returned to the real world with a solemn expression.

He paced back and forth in the rental apartment and didn’t delay any further. He took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote:

“I’ve already gathered the Beyonder blood of twenty pathways. I’m just short of a.s.sa.s.sin and Criminal.

“George III will be holding a speech for most of the kingdom’s citizens this Sat.u.r.day. You should know what this might mean.

“In addition, I need the ritual to communicate with Mr. Door.”

After folding the letter and getting Reinette Tinekerr to send it out, Klein slowly exhaled as he couldn’t help but think of all sorts of thoughts.

The Demoness’s blood shouldn’t be a problem. Trissy seems very determined to foil George Ill’s scheme…

I can reveal something to Queen Mystic, that I’m able to enter the secret mausoleum… Although her main goal is to revive the emperor and she is unwilling to make an enemy out of George III, the emperor might not be able to return if George III succeeds…

I’m waiting for the Chief of the City of Silver to return to provide the Devil’s blood… The hunting team that he led has set off for more than ten days. They should be returning soon… In theory, there’s still time. There’s no problem… If not, I’ll use the two contingencies. First, I’ll use the Blatherer’s aura to replace the blood. Second, I’ll summon the Devils that I’ve encountered in the past from the Historical Void and extract their blood…

In a room in the Backlund Bridge area that didn’t look anything special.

The l.u.s.trous black-haired Trissy reached out and retrieved a letter from the mirror.

She opened it and her brows gradually frowned. It was especially endearing.

Is it finally happening…? Trissy’s expression changed a few times. She seemed hesitant, resistant, afraid, and confused.

Finally, she smiled and muttered in a twisted voice, “I’ve killed so many people and caused so many tragedies. Even if I were to die this time, it wouldn’t be a total loss…”

After a few seconds of silence, Trissy took out a gla.s.s test tube from her black dress’s pocket.

It wasn’t her blood, but another Demoness’s. Her original name was Sherman, who had later called herself Shermane.

As a qualified, senior Demoness, Trissy had found an opportunity to take some of Shermane’s blood while nurturing her. A necessary component for curses; it might not have been of use most of the time, but it could effectively prevent any accidents.

After Shermane’s death, Trissy didn’t abandon the tube of blood. This was because there were many occasions when Demonesses needed such materials, just like now.

City of Silver, in a particular residence.

As soon as the lightning frequency increased, Derrick got out of bed, lit the stove, and quickly grilled some mushroom bread.

This bread was even more exquisite and delicious than the original Black-Faced Gra.s.s. He loved it very much, and he looked forward to his three daily meals.

The only problem was that the yield of mushrooms that could make bread wasn’t too high.

Due to the limited number of monster corpses, every resident was only limited to one claim a week, enough for four to five meals.

After thousands of years of hard work, the area around the City of Silver was relatively safe, with relatively few monsters.

Derrick heard that someone had deliberately placed himself in the darkness to hunt monsters for the nurturing of mushrooms, hoping to be bait.

Then, he was eaten.

Those mushrooms have made everyone feel optimistic.” That_s not good.” Derrick thought of the wistfulness before the Chief left and shook his head. He picked up a jar he obtained from another city ruin and poured out some white milk.

Frankly speaking, he didn’t like milk, but it was described by Miss Justice as something that could help humans grow taller and stronger. This was enough to move him.

As a resident of the City of Silver, Derrick knew that, as he hadn’t chosen the Giant pathway, the chances of him growing taller and bulkier in the future were low. However, he secretly hoped to reduce the gap between him and his friends. Milk gave him that opportunity.

Gulp. Gulp. With a serious expression, Derrick drank today’s milk rations.

Just as he was about to get some mushroom bread, he suddenly sensed something and looked out the window.

A person grew out of the shadows outside the door and said from afar, “Derrick, the Chief wants me to give you this bottle of blood.”

The Chief is back? Derrick suddenly stood up and said, “Alright, thank you.”

The moment he finished speaking, he saw the shadow in the gap come alive, pus.h.i.+ng out a small metal bottle.

Derrick knew very well that it contained the Devil blood that Mr. World wanted.